1 Kings 18:17

18:17 When Ahab saw Elijah, he ¹  said to him, “Is it really you, the one who brings disaster ²  on Israel?”

Jeremiah 26:8-11

26:8 Jeremiah had just barely finished saying all the Lord had commanded him to say to all the people. All at once some ³  of the priests, the prophets, and the people grabbed him and shouted, “You deserve to die! ⁴  26:9 How dare you claim the Lord’s authority to prophesy such things! How dare you claim his authority to prophesy that this temple will become like Shiloh and that this city will become an uninhabited ruin!” ⁵  Then all the people crowded around Jeremiah.

26:10 However, some of the officials ⁶  of Judah heard about what was happening ⁷  and they rushed up to the Lord’s temple from the royal palace. They set up court ⁸  at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s temple. ⁹  26:11 Then the priests and the prophets made their charges before the officials and all the people. They said, ¹⁰  “This man should be condemned to die ¹¹  because he prophesied against this city. You have heard him do so ¹²  with your own ears.”

Jeremiah 37:13-15

37:13 But he only got as far as the Benjamin Gate. ¹³  There an officer in charge of the guards named Irijah, ¹⁴  who was the son of Shelemiah and the grandson of Hananiah, stopped him. He seized Jeremiah and said, ¹⁵  “You are deserting to the Babylonians!” ¹⁶  37:14 Jeremiah answered, “That’s a lie! I am not deserting to the Babylonians.” ¹⁷  But Irijah would not listen to him. Irijah put Jeremiah under arrest and took him to the officials. 37:15 The officials were very angry ¹⁸  at Jeremiah. They had him flogged and put in prison in the house of Jonathan, the royal secretary, which they had converted into a place for confining prisoners. ¹⁹ 

Jeremiah 38:4

38:4 So these officials said to the king, “This man must be put to death. For he is demoralizing ²⁰  the soldiers who are left in the city as well as all the other people there by these things he is saying. ²¹  This ²²  man is not seeking to help these people but is trying to harm them.” ²³ 

Luke 23:2

23:2 They ²⁴  began to accuse ²⁵  him, saying, “We found this man subverting ²⁶  our nation, forbidding ²⁷  us to pay the tribute tax ²⁸  to Caesar ²⁹  and claiming that he himself is Christ, ³⁰  a king.”

Acts 5:28

5:28 saying, “We gave ³¹  you strict orders ³²  not to teach in this name. ³³  Look, ³⁴  you have filled Jerusalem ³⁵  with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood ³⁶  on us!”

Acts 24:5

24:5 For we have found ³⁷  this man to be a troublemaker, ³⁸  one who stirs up riots ³⁹  among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader ⁴⁰  of the sect of the Nazarenes. ⁴¹ 

[18:17]  ¹ tn Heb “Ahab.”

[18:17]  ² tn Or “trouble.”

[26:8]  ³ tn The translation again represents an attempt to break up a long complex Hebrew sentence into equivalent English ones that conform more to contemporary English style: Heb “And as soon as Jeremiah finished saying all that…the priests…grabbed him and said…” The word “some” has been supplied in the translation, because obviously it was not all the priests, the prophets, and all the people, but only some of them. There is, of course, rhetorical intent here to show that all were implicated, although all may not have actually participated. (This is a common figure called synecdoche where all is put for a part – all for all kinds or representatives of all kinds. See E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 614-19, and compare usage in Acts 10:12; Matt 3:5.)

[26:8]  ⁴ tn Or “You must certainly die!” The construction here is again emphatic with the infinitive preceding the finite verb (cf. Joüon 2:423 §123.h, and compare usage in Exod 21:28).

[26:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “Why have you prophesied in the Lord’s name, saying, ‘This house will become like Shiloh and this city will become a ruin without inhabitant?’” It is clear from the context here and in 7:1-15 that the emphasis is on “in the Lord’s name” and that the question is rhetorical. The question is not a quest for information but an accusation, a remonstrance. (For this figure see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 953-54, who calls a question like this a rhetorical question of remonstrance or expostulation. For good examples see Pss 11:1; 50:16.) For the significance of “prophesying in the Lord’s name” see the study note on 14:14. The translation again utilizes the indirect quote to eliminate one level of embedded quotation.

[26:10]  ⁶ sn These officials of Judah were officials from the royal court. They may have included some of the officials mentioned in Jer 36:12-25. They would have been concerned about any possible “illegal” proceedings going on in the temple.

[26:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “these things.”

[26:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “they sat” or “they took their seats.” However, the context is one of judicial trial.

[26:10]  ⁹ tn The translation follows many Hebrew mss and ancient versions in reading the word “house” (= temple) here. The majority of Hebrew mss do not have this word. It is, however, implicit in the construction “the New Gate of the Lord.”

[26:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the priests and prophets said to the leaders and the people….” The long sentence has been broken up to conform better with contemporary English style and the situational context is reflected in “laid their charges.”

[26:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a sentence of death to this man.”

[26:11]  ¹² tn Heb “it.”

[37:13]  ¹³ sn The Benjamin Gate would have been a gate in the northern wall leading out toward the territory of Benjamin. It is mentioned only here and in Jer 38:7 and Zech 14:10.

[37:13]  ¹⁴ sn Nothing further is known about Irijah. It is generally agreed that the Hananiah mentioned here is not the same as the false prophet of the same name whom Jeremiah confronted approximately six years earlier (28:1, 5, 10, 15).

[37:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “And he was in the gate of Benjamin and there was an officer of the guard whose name [more literally, and his name] was Irijah…and he seized the prophet Jeremiah, saying.” The sentence has been broken down and simplified to better conform with contemporary English style.

[37:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.

[37:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.

[37:15]  ¹⁸ sn The officials mentioned here are not the same as those mentioned in Jer 36:12, most of whom were favorably disposed toward Jeremiah, or at least regarded what he said with enough trepidation to try to protect Jeremiah and preserve the scroll containing his messages (36:16, 19, 24). All those officials had been taken into exile with Jeconiah in 597 b.c. (2 Kgs 24:14).

[37:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for they had made it into the house of confinement.” The causal particle does not fit the English sentence very well and “house of confinement” needs some explanation. Some translate this word “prison” but that creates redundancy with the earlier word translated “prison” (בֵּית הָאֵסוּר, bet ha’esur, “house of the band/binding”] which is more closely related to the concept of prison [cf. אָסִיר, ’asir, “prisoner”]). It is clear from the next verse that Jeremiah was confined in a cell in the dungeon of this place.

[38:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “weakening the hands of.” For this idiom see BDB 951 s.v. רָפָה Pi. and compare the usage in Isa 13:7; Ezek 21:7 (21:12 HT).

[38:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “by saying these things.”

[38:4]  ²² tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) has not been rendered here because it is introducing a parallel causal clause to the preceding one. To render “For” might be misunderstood as a grounds for the preceding statement. To render “And” or “Moreover” sounds a little odd here. If it must be represented, “Moreover” is perhaps the best rendering.

[38:4]  ²³ tn Or “is not looking out for these people’s best interests but is really trying to do them harm”; Heb “is not seeking the welfare [or “well-being”; Hebrew shalom] of this people but [their] harm [more literally, evil].”

[23:2]  ²⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[23:2]  ²⁵ sn They began to accuse him. There were three charges: (1) disturbing Jewish peace; (2) fomenting rebellion through advocating not paying taxes (a lie – 20:20-26); and (3) claiming to be a political threat to Rome, by claiming to be a king, an allusion to Jesus’ messianic claims. The second and third charges were a direct challenge to Roman authority. Pilate would be forced to do something about them.

[23:2]  ²⁶ tn On the use of the term διαστρέφω (diastrefw) here, see L&N 31.71 and 88.264.

[23:2]  ²⁷ tn Grk “and forbidding.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated to suggest to the English reader that this and the following charge are specifics, while the previous charge was a summary one. See the note on the word “misleading” earlier in this verse.

[23:2]  ²⁸ tn This was a “poll tax.” L&N 57.182 states this was “a payment made by the people of one nation to another, with the implication that this is a symbol of submission and dependence – ‘tribute tax.’”

[23:2]  ²⁹ tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[23:2]  ³⁰ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[5:28]  ³¹ tc ‡ The majority of mss, including a few important witnesses (א² D E [Ψ] 1739 Ï sy sa), have the negative particle οὐ (ou) here, effectively turning the high priest’s words into a question: “Did we not give you strict orders not to teach in this name?” But the earliest and most important mss, along with some others (Ì⁷⁴ א* A B 1175 lat bo), lack the particle, making this a strong statement rather than a question. Scribes may have been tempted to omit the particle to strengthen the contrast between official Judaism and the new faith, but the fact that v. 27 introduces the quotation with ἐπηρώτησεν (ephrwthsen, “he questioned”) may well have prompted scribes to add οὐ to convert the rebuke into a question. Further, that excellent witnesses affirm the shorter reading is sufficient ground for accepting it as most probably authentic. NA²⁷ includes the particle in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[5:28]  ³² tn Grk “We commanded you with a commandment” (a Semitic idiom that is emphatic).

[5:28]  ³³ sn The name (i.e., person) of Jesus is the constant issue of debate.

[5:28]  ³⁴ tn Grk “And behold.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[5:28]  ³⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:28]  ³⁶ sn To bring this man’s blood on us is an idiom meaning “you intend to make us guilty of this man’s death.”

[24:5]  ³⁷ tn Grk “For having found.” The participle εὑρόντες (Jeurontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[24:5]  ³⁸ tn L&N 22.6 has “(a figurative extension of meaning of λοιμός ‘plague,’ 23.158) one who causes all sorts of trouble – ‘troublemaker, pest.’ … ‘for we have found this man to be a troublemaker” Ac 24:5.”

[24:5]  ³⁹ tn Or “dissensions.” While BDAG 940 s.v. στάσις 3 translates this phrase “κινεῖν στάσεις (v.l. στάσιν) τισί create dissension among certain people Ac 24:5,” it is better on the basis of the actual results of Paul’s ministry to categorize this usage under section 2, “uprising, riot, revolt, rebellion” (cf. the use in Acts 19:40).

[24:5]  ⁴⁰ tn This term is yet another NT hapax legomenon (BDAG 894 s.v. πρωτοστάτης).

[24:5]  ⁴¹ sn The sect of the Nazarenes is a designation for followers of Jesus the Nazarene, that is, Christians.